By Gabby Hernandez
hernande6@grinnell.edu
As a child, Ellie Gubbrud `22 wanted to be able to ride an ostrich into battle. Now, she has other goals for the future, including attending medical school, petting a bear, graduating and enjoying the time she has left at Grinnell College.
Gubbrud is a classics major on the pre-med track, despite initially intending to major in biology. She enrolled in Elementary Greek, thinking it would help her on the MCAT, and realized that she enjoyed it more than STEM. Gubbrud said classics is interesting because of the level of engagement it invokes.
“I’m like the one classics major to say I didn’t do it because of Percy Jackson,” said Gubbrud.
Her enjoyment of classics in part comes from the ability to look at ancient cultures and see how they connect and influence modern society. Analyzing how cultural events affect people through the lens of antiquity is an interest to Gubbrud.
Learning ancient Greek also ended up helping Grubbard on the MCAT, like she initially planned. Studying the classics has contributed to her analysis skills as well as her discipline. “If there’s anything that the classics major has taught me at Grinnell, it’s that you have to have discipline. I think it will help with medical school because you also can’t really wing medical school,” said Gubbrud.
Gubbrud chose to be on the pre-med track at Grinnell because of her experiences with a family history of general medical issues and her experience working as an emergency room medical scribe.
Working in an emergency room in particular appeals to Gubbrud because of the social aspect of the job. She emphasizes the importance of outside factors related to healthcare access and medical treatment as being important to consider as a medical professional.
“I want to be a doctor to help people, at the heart of it,” said Gubbrud.
Medical school is at least a year away for Gubbrud, as she plans to take a gap year after graduation to work and spend time with her family, which includes an old yellow Labrador who, according to Gubbrud, can sleep for 25 hours (only beating Gubbrud’s own record by one hour).
During her time at Grinnell, Gubbrud has learned to find the balance between having fun and working hard, and that if the opportunity to get something done early arrives, do it.
Gubbrud has played on the women’s basketball team since her first year at Grinnell, and said she enjoyed the team environment. “I’m a baller, not a scholar,” said Gubbrud. She continued to describe her experience with sports and said that she has probably been participating in sports since she was in the womb.
I’m kind of at a place where I’m grateful for my time here, and I’m ready for the next step. -Ellie Gubbrud ’22
There are many things Gubbrud will miss about Grinnell, including Saints Rest Coffee House and the comradery of college. Gubbrud will also miss her friends and the way Grinnell brings together people from various places, perspectives and cultures together.
“So I guess we’ll see where I end up. If there’s anything I’ve learned over the past few years it’s that you’ve got to take things as they come,” said Gubbrud. “I’m kind of at the place where I’m grateful for my time here, and I’m ready for that next step.”
“It’s kind of sad that one of our years got taken by COVID, but I try not to dwell on it,” she said. “There’s nothing we can do to change it now. I’m just trying to enjoy the time I’ve still got.”
